Readers
of this website will be familiar with Reed McClintock's Knucklebuster series
reviewed here. Coin Ovations is Reed's first jump into coin magic DVDs.

The video is produced my
MagicSmith and has a mix of studio shot and live performance segments. The
video quality is very clear though I think it would have looked better to use a
different backdrop or clothing combination than black on black for the studio
shots. Its not the best aesthetic choice. But it doesn't hinder your ability
to see the magic or explanations so it is a minor nit pick. When I first viewed
the tape I was watching it with headphones on and I was picking up some minor
background noise in the studio shots. A steady camera hum and occasional
background noise. It is not so bad that you cannot hear Reed clearly, but it is
audible if you are listening for it.

Well enough of that – we can see and hear Reed clearly so
let's take a look at what's on the DVD:

Routine #1: "13 Coin Matrix": Four cards are placed in a
square pattern on a close up pad. A little bit of imagination is plucked from
the air and tossed downward to the table where four coins have magically
appeared in the center of the table. One at a time, the coins are picked up and
they vanish as they are tossed back to the table.

Two at a time, the four cards are moved to show coins
underneath. The cards are set down in a diamond pattern on the table. After a
pause and some patter, the coins are moved to a square pattern inside the
diamond pattern of the cards. The cards are moved one at a time to a wide
square pattern. As each card is moved we can see a coin under each of them.
There are now eight coins on the table and four cards.

The four cards are once again picked up off the table one at
a time to reveal coins underneath. The cards are discarded on the center of the
table. There are now twelve coins on the close up pad.

The cards on the center of the table are squared up to reveal
a large 3" jumbo coin underneath.

Wow. What can I say? The coin production is visually
stunning. Reed has a very direct handling to produce 13 coins. Whereas most
matrix plots are about coins translocating from under one card to another,
Reed's plot is that of coins appearing under cards. Reed makes the routine
appear effortless, but for YOU to be able to perform the routine there are some
serious multiple coin palming prerequisites.

If you meet the multiple palming criteria, you will be able
to perform this stunning coin production routine. If not, you have some serious
practice ahead of you. One thing that is only mentioned briefly in passing on
the DVD that will help you is that Reed uses Barber Half Dollars which are thin
coins. This will help facilitate palming seven coins. Reed apparently has a
really good teaching on how to work with multiple coin palming. I feel this
teaching would have helped as a primer for the explanation of this routine.

After the explanation segment of the DVD, Reed performs in
front of a live audience a bonus version of the routine that changes the
ending. Instead of ending with the Jumbo coin, he does a quick one coin
flurry. Then using the Sylvester Pitch (Inertia Pass) (which is not taught on
this tape) he produces the Jumbo 3" coin then changes it into a Jumbo 5" coin
using the Inertia Pass again. The jumbo coin Inertia Pass stuff looked
spectacular.

Reed's Elbow Knee and Neck: One coin is produced at the
fingertips of both hands; a second coin is produced at the fingertips of the
left hand; and a third coin is pulled from the top of the knee. Two coins are
given to a spectator. The coin the magician retains vanishes. One at a time,
both coins are taken back from the spectator. One coin is placed in the left
fist; the other coin is waved over the left fist. The left fist is then pressed
against the right elbow. The coin disappears from the left fist. The remaining
coin does not go under the elbow, but rather goes onto the right knee and
vanishes.

The magician reaches under his left elbow and produces a
coin; reaches on top of his right knee and produces a coin, and then says the
third coin goes in his pocket, and he puts his hand in his pocket and says, "But
what if I did not put it in my pocket, but I made it jump from my pocket up to
my neck right here…" and reaches up and takes the third coin from his neck.

This is a variation of Daryl's "Elbow Knee and Neck"
routine. Simply, the plot is a 3 coin production, vanish, and reproduction. If
producing and vanishing to different parts of your body appeals to you, you will
want to check out Reed's solutions. Since there is a lot of reaching to elbows,
necks, knees, pockets, spectators' hands, and using 3 coins you need to really
pay attention to avoid losing track of what's going on. The good thing is, if
you pay attention, it is baffling!

I am not going to get into the details of what goes where and
when, but it should not be a shock to anyone with a routine called "Elbow, Knee,
and Neck" that a coin might be placed onto your neck. Without tipping things,
Reed exploits this to an extreme. He does say that he will give some tips on
keeping a coin there if the coin tends to slide off your neck. Unfortunately
these tips got edited out. From talking with Reed, the tip was to put a
moisturizing cream on the back of your neck (Reed uses Zim's Crack Cream).

Routine #3: Scream Fly: Three coins are held in a fan at
the left fingertips, one at a time each coin travels invisibly from the left to
the right. After all 3 coins have traveled to the right, one travels back to
the left, and then back to the right.

Yep… another 3 fly routine. It is really hard to truly
innovate in this neo-classic plot. Reed's handling is solid and it works. I
thought his ending was particularly strong because you can really show 3 coins
at the end. Reed does make use of a common gaff. The routine itself does not
use the gaff at all; it is only used at the beginning and end to show cleanly 3
coins. Reed also had some nice utilization the Jim Wilson Vanish which is as
far as I know the proper earlier credit for a concealment often credited to Bob
Fitch or Mike Gallo. The one thing I personally thought was a little strange
was after Reed got all the coins to the right hand, then he made one go back and
forth. Usually this "going back and forth" of a coin is done to get one ahead
typically the last fly. I wasn't quite sure what purpose that last bit served
after Reed successfully got all the coins to the right, though it did look
magical. Reed does use this last part with his International 3 Fly below, which
is more a continuation of an effect and makes a little more sense to me (I'll
explain what I mean in my review of International 3 Fly).

This routine does rely on the misdirection of not looking at
the right place at the right time. Reed has a new DVD coming out called the
"Coin Patriot" which is rumored to change this dynamic where all the focus is
placed on the coins during the translocations, that does not rely on
misdirecting the spectator's focus.

Routine #4: International 3 Fly: Three different coins one
at a time travel from the left hand to the right hand. The coins are an English
Penny (copper) , a Kennedy Half Dollar (silver), and a Chinese coin with a hole
in the center (brass). The copper coin travels first, followed immediately by
the silver coin. After some byplay with the spectator regarding the brass coin,
it too travels from the right to the left. Then, magically the brass coin jumps
back to the left hand and magically back to the right. Reed says, that is
bizarre because he actually does it with the half dollar… suddenly the half
dollar is gone from the right hand and is in the left (Reed never touched the
coins again). The silver coin is put in the pocket. Then the brass coin jumps
from the right to the left hand and is also put in the pocket. The copper coin
is placed in the left hand and magically penetrates the outside of the left pant
pocket, and is pulled back through the material. The brass coin is also pulled
through the outside of the pocket, and the third coin is grabbed out from the
left elbow – but the third coin is the copper coin again!?! The left hand is
only holding the Chinese coin. The copper coin is added to the Chinese coin in
the left hand. Reed says the silver coin is on his neck, and reaches back and
takes it and says, "Oh I am sorry it's the copper coin"!?! You look at his left
hand and he is holding the Chinese coin and the silver half dollar. (This part
is wacky you need to see it).

All three coins are fanned at the fingertips of the left
hand. One at a time the right hand takes each coin and they vanish into thin
air.

This is innovative and the plot adds specificity to the coins
since they are all different types. The 3 fly phase of the routine works well
and is in some ways similar to the handling of Scream Fly, with the obvious
addition of 3 distinct coins. Like Scream Fly, Reed makes the last coin jump
back and forth one more time from the fan in the right to the left, then back to
the right. But in the context of this routine, it makes more sense because Reed
is going right into a next phase of the routine. The phases after the
traditional 3 fly are really wacky. If your spectator is not paying attention
they will completely lose the affect of the effect. If they are paying
attention there are a few mind smackers in there. Specifically; Reed producing
the copper coin 3 times in a row, though they appear to be separate occurrences,
and the last time the copper coin that was just shown seconds ago is now
silver. I enjoyed the nuttiness of it. It's definitely out of the box routine
construction.

Of all the routines I like the International 3 Fly stuff the
best. It's a unique use of unique coins. It does use two common gaff coins.
The 13 coin matrix is really neat to watch, but I am not at Reed's multiple
palming proficiency to get it to work for me yet. You gotta get the DVD to see
it though! Reed's stuff always reminds me I have some serious work yet to do
with coins.

When
I think of the three most influential early versions of Jonathan Townsend's "Visible Coins Across" three names immediately come to
mind: Chris Kenner, Gary Kurtz, and R. Paul Wilson. Kenner's and Kurtz' pioneering routines brought
Mr. Townsend's routine up to chest level. Wilson's routine as explained on his
video "Knock Em Dead" was actually his adaptation of Kenner's handling.

For the uninitiated, "3 Fly" which the "Visible
Coins Across" has become known as is a magic plot by which coins visibly
disappear from the fingertips of one hand and magically appear at the fingertips
of the other.

After Paul eventually got the work on Kenner's
routine he found that the handling he had come up with was in some ways easier
than Kenner's and created the same basic effect in spectators' eyes. Paul's
routine has become very popular and the techniques he employed have found their
way into the handlings of many other versions of "3 Fly".

Truly the works of Chris Kenner, Gary Kurtz, and
R. Paul Wilson have greatly shaped the technical handling of what today is known
as "3 Fly".

Paul has now released the full version of his
routine in an eleven page downloadable Adobe Acrobat format. The production
sequence and actual "3 Fly" handling is the same that has been released before,
however what is tipped in the new manuscript is a phase that occurs directly
after the production sequence called "Sunday Morning Coins Across" (SMCC). SMCC
is a very quick closed handed coins across phase. To understand why this is
done, let's take a look at Paul's own words.

Paul has graciously given me permission to
include the introduction to his manuscript in this review:

"Crowded Coins (aka Scottish Fly) has
attracted a great deal of interest since it first appeared back in 1994.

It was first published in an obscure little
pamphlet titled "Alias", a set of notes intended for my first lecture in Perth,
Scotland. I later sat down and re-wrote the notes, including illustrations and
some new material. This became "Chaos Theories", my first book. I printed 100
copies and my wife kept 25 aside. The 75 sold quickly thanks to H&R magic books
and the routine later appeared in several sets of lecture notes for various
tours and conventions.

It wasn't until the routine appeared in Genii
Magazine (as Scottish Fly) and then on my video, Knock Em Dead, that this
version of 3Fly became more widely known.

Crowded Coins has been around since the very
early nineties. Other magicians have worked on similar methods but I feel it is
important to point out that I was the first to publish my version, based on the
work of Kenner, Kurtz and Townsend. Since Crowded Coins was published, several
VERY similar routines have been released with little or no credit to myself.

In most cases the people involved were
developing their handlings at the same time I was developing mine. To my
knowledge no one stole anything from anyone – it was simply several individuals
following similar paths. That said, I personally believe that the credit must go
to the first to publish.

3Fly has become one of those tricks that create
thousands of posts on Internet sites every year. Every time someone creates a
"new" one there is a buzz.

Having spent considerable time developing a
simple handling that looks as good, or better, as anything before it I am often
amused at the direction the "new" 3Fly routines take. Many simply complicate the
effect with more moves, or start switching the coins from hand to hand to make
some esoteric palm fit the routine.

Often the result is simply cluttered and
littered with bad angles. Never the less, magicians often prefer to prove their
ability (or lack of it) rather than concentrate on the effect.

Whenever I develop a routine, particularly one
that I will use in almost every show, I aim for the simplest, most direct
method. Sometimes simple means easy, other times it requires very difficult
sleight of hand.

Sleights should solve problems in an effect, not
create them. These days it seems to me that many people actually think it adds
to an effect when more coins are used, the coins are signed, or the routine
becomes a catalogue of poorly executed, badly conceived sleights.

Magicians want to see moves. Lay people want to
see effects.

Over the years I have been reluctant to let one
phase of this routine go. This phase answers a key problem with any 3Fly routine
– the effect simply doesn't get the reaction it deserves from a lay audience.

I have encountered similar problems with other
effects. For example, Ray Kosby's "Raise Rise" blows magicians away yet is
nowhere near as impressive as the bent card ending to a layman (Expert Card
Technique).

Back in 1992 I found a solution. In over 11
years of performances I have found this to be the real secret to 3Fly: they need
to know the difference!

Why do magicians seem to react more than laymen
to this effect? The answer is simple: they have a point of reference – they
understand what's special about 3Fly. The visual element is then appreciated.

You are about to read a full description of
Crowded Coins, including the previously unpublished "Sunday Morning Sequence". I
have taught this sequence to a few friends. All of them have agreed that it adds
a great deal to the routine and makes the 3Fly sequence much more impressive.

The whole routine flows smoothly from the
production into the new phase and continues as previously described in my notes
and on video (everything is described here). If you add this to any version of
3Fly you will notice an immediate improvement in your audience reactions when
the first coin goes visibly.

It should also be noted that this is a complete
coin routine. The coins are produced, used to good effect then vanish at the
end. Most 3Flys are merely a fingertip coins across but, as the following
description proves, I feel 3Fly is best performed in the context of a a mini
coin act, rather than a stand alone effect.

So, for the first time, here is Crowded Coins,
in its entirety."

Paul has given much wisdom in that
introduction. His handling truly is one of the simplified usable versions
available. I agree that too often people create monstrosities of routines that
include unnecessary over handling of the coins.

Paul's revelation is that spectator's react
better to "3 Fly" after being acquainted with a closed fisted plot. The closed
fist coins across creates mystery in the mind of the spectator. The visible
phase then takes that mystery and turns it into awe.

The closed fist coins across strengthening the
visible phase I did stumble upon a year or so ago while performing and posted on
some of the internet forums how well it went. I had the notion in my mind that
it was something that was best not repeated (to do two similar effects in a
row). It wasn't until I read Paul's independent observations on the Genii
forum regarding this phenomenon did I realize that, you know, there is no reason
why not to do a closed hand lead in to "3 Fly". I too have witnessed stronger
reactions literally every time by saving 3 fly to be performed after a closed
coins across, either right away, or later in a set.

The "Sunday Morning Coins Across" phase is not a
gigantic addition to "Crowded Coins", it is rather a very short and snappy
aside. It practically rides over the effect, even though it is quite baffling
and visually pleasing, Paul wanted to underplay the SMCC phase so that the real
burn takes place during the "3 Fly" phase.

If you have Paul's previous
release of the routine you do have the majority of the work and it isn't 100%
necessary to own this new manuscript. Though if you really want to get the full
work just drop your ten bucks at the door. If you happen to be someone living
under a rock for the past few years and don't have a good "3 Fly" routine yet;
don't even hesitate, ten bucks will buy you one of the best "3 Fly" routines
ever created. Go get it
HERE right now!

This
DVD, produced by MagicSmith is the third installment to Curtis Kam's video
series "Palms of Steel". It was shot at the 2002 IBM convention in San Diego, CA. The video quality is
superb especially for a piece not shot in a studio. The lighting, sound, and
visual clarity is excellent. It was shot in the same location, time, and with
the same camera as Volume 2.

Those of you familiar with the other
installments of the "Palms of Steel" series will surely recognize Curtis. Reed
McClintock who appeared on Vol. 2, is back again to perform "4 Co Pro" from
Knucklebuster's Volume 1 and a variation called "Super 4 Co Pro".

So… Let's jump in:

Routine 1: "Through and Through": A coin
penetrates through the right pants pocket, is pushed through the left hand
twice, pushed through is right hand once, then it gets pushed into the left hand
and vanishes; only to reappear with the left index finger penetrated through
it. The coin is pulled off dumped from hand to hand to show it is solid, and
then slowly the left index finger pushes through the coin again. The coin is
taken off and shown solid once more then placed into the left pants pocket. The
coin penetrates the left pants pocket. The coin is placed on the outside bottom
the right pants pocket. The pant material is folded over and the coin
penetrates into the right pocket. The pant material is folded over once again
and the coin comes back out. The coin is handed out to the spectator and taken
back. The coin is shown to fall backwards (up) from the right and to the left.
The coin is dropped back into the right hand and handed back to the spectator.
The coin vanishes before the spectator can take it.

This routine is all about penetrations. Through
pant material, through hand flesh, and the finger through the coin. Curtis does
a really nice job mixing these penetrations into a one coin flurry
construction. Curtis keeps the routine moving and a solid pace that is
necessary to remain one step ahead of the spectator. In this live performance,
one of the spectators was a young girl who you can see reach for the coin after
Curtis pushed his finger through it. She had no chance to actually get close as
the routine was paced fast enough so that it had moved on before the girl even
got near the coin. I really like Curtis' use of the Finger Gimlet (Karate Coin)
as part of the coin flurry. It really adds a great visual to the routine.

Routine #2: "Triple Alliance": A half dollar,
a copper coin, and a copper coin with a hole in it are displayed (a brass
Chinese coin could be used). They are placed one at a time into the left hand
and then the silver coin is removed and placed on top of the left fist. The
silver coin is tossed over to the right hand and is displayed openly. The right
hand closes and opens. The silver coin vanishes and in its place are the two
copper coins. The left hand opens. It now has the silver coin. The silver
coin is placed with the other coins in the left hand, and then taken back into
the right hand. The right hand closes into a fist and the left hand opens to
show that somehow the silver coin and only the silver coin is back in the left
hand. The right hand opens to show both copper coins.

The silver coin is placed with the others in the
left hand and the copper coin with a hole is removed and put into the right
pants pocket. The remaining copper coin is put into the spectator's hand. Both
hands (the magician's and spectator's) are closed into fists. Curtis opens his
hand to show that he now has the copper coin; the spectator opens to find he is
now holding the silver. The copper coin is placed once again into the
spectator's hand. The silver coin is rubbed against the magician's right pocket
and turns into the copper coin. The magician reaches into his pocket and pulls
out the silver coin! The spectator is left holding the copper coin with a hole
in it that was put away earlier!

This was the routine on the DVD that made me go
get my coins right away and go through the explanation with coins in hand.
There is a lot of finger flicking going on in this routine; it's definitely not
a self worker. I am going to get one little complaint out of the way right
away… This is not toward Curtis but MagicSmith's editing. They conveniently
edited out a necessary coin ditch during the performance segment. You need to
do this ditch to start as clean as Curtis did. It's not a major deal, but I
like to see exactly how the routine looks without editing out things. I was
slightly disappointed that something that fooled me was due to film editing.

I like the sleight of hand used in this routine,
it is fun to work on. For those who are not into back clips and such, you could
eliminate all the hard work by using a Copper-Silver-Brass coin set. Though
when Curtis moves onto the transpositions in the spectator's hand you'd have to
work in a way to switch out the C/S/B gaff if you used it. The "in the
spectator's hand" segment of the routine is especially strong, particularly the
three way transposition with a coin in your pocket, your hand, and the
spectator's hand.

Routines #2 and #3: Reed McClintock's "4 Co
Pro" and "Super 4 Co Pro": I will direct you to my review of
Knucklebusters #1 here for the review of this. Super 4 Co Pro is a modified
handling that changes the sudden vanish of 2 coins sequence of 4 Co Pro. Super
4 Co Pro makes two of the three coins vanish one at a time as opposed to all at
once. Reed performed the routines very smoothly. It's nice to see some of his
Knucklebuster stuff in the flesh.

Routine #4: "Inverted Matrix": Four coins are
placed in a square formation on a close up mat. Four cards are placed on top of
each coin. The four cards are picked up in rapid succession and all the coins
appear in the top left corner. The coins are once again placed in a square
formation and covered with the four cards. In a slow methodical fashion they
begin to collect once again at the top left corner. Just as the last coin
disappears, the top left card is lifted once again apparently to show all the
coins in the upper left, but only one coin is to be found. All the cards are
lifted to reveal that all of the coins are found back where they started from.

For those of you who like nice looking coin
flourishes, Curtis starts this routine out by performing a four coin roll down
and then immediately balances the 4 coins on the fingertips. It looked very
nice.

The key to the first phase of Curtis' matrix is
the first coin. The first coin magically appears at the top left. All the rest
get there in an extremely (an almost too) straightforward fashion. The shock of
the first coin's transposition doesn't even have a chance to subside by the time
the Matrix routine is over. I'll admit the first time I watched the performance
it happened so fast, I wasn't quite sure how the heck it all happened. When I
went back to write this review I could plainly see what Curtis did. This phase
of the Matrix I would hazard a guess to say should never be repeated twice. It
relies on figuratively smacking the spectator and finishing up while they are
still reeling. You can even see it in the audience response. They are stunned
and don't even react for about 3-4 seconds after it was done.

Using the fast Matrix as lead in to phase two is
superb thinking. The speed of the routine makes the spectators want to see it
again. This sets Curtis up for a reason to perform the second phase and also
conditions the spectators to expect all the coins to collect in the top left
corner. Since they are preconditioned, Curtis can turn it around and backfire
the coins. The second phase is a much less hurried routine. It is direct and
full of impact. To find out what pick up moves and transfers, etc. Curtis
employs you will have to get the DVD.

One attractive feature of both phases of this
Matrix is that it only uses four coins and four cards. So it is pure sleight o'
hand.

Routine #5: "Copper Silver Bent": A copper
coin and silver coin are displayed in the magician's right hand and both sides
are shown. The copper coin is placed into the spectator's hand. The silver
coin is tossed into the magician's left hand. The magician opens his hand to
show the silver is now copper. The spectator opens their hand to find their
coin changed to silver. The magician takes both coins and then returns the
silver to the spectator's hand. The magician closes his hand over his copper
coin a few times, but it never changes. The magician mentions how tight it
appears the spectator is holding the coin, and asks him to open and take a
look. The spectator held the coin so hard that the silver coin is now bent.

My thoughts: This is cool. It plays out
exactly as I describe. It is one of those quick clean routines that happen in
the spectator's hand. This is a perfect routine for two spectators. You make a
coin change place in one spectator's hand; the other spectator is going to want
it to happen in their hand too. The spectator is conditioned to expect a
transposition and never expect the bent effect. Now that I mention it, "Triple
Alliance" above has that double spectator repeat function built in as well.

Routine #6: "Sandwich Movathon": Unfortunately
it's a card routine. Fortunately it is pretty good. You just aren't going read
about it on this coin magic site, sorry J

"Through and Through" is the best routine for
walk around or table hopping, it's a simple enough plot and is nice and visual.
The copper/silver stuff you will need to be close enough to your spectators to
hide some back clipping action. If you are used to working with back clips,
than this will not be a problem for you. I think you get a nice variety of coin
magic on this DVD and will be a welcome addition to your coin magic library.

I am an advocate of giving the magician retail
sales for his products. Those of you interested in the DVD, I would recommend
getting them directly from Curtis himself. Curtis has the DVD for $30.00 plus
$4.00 priority mail shipping. You can send him a check made out to Curtis Kam, 7518 Nakalele St.,
Honolulu, HI 96825.

This DVD,
produced by MagicSmith is the long awaited sequel to Curtis Kam's video from the
late 1990's "Palms of Steel". It was shot at the 2002 IBM convention in San
Diego, CA. The video quality is superb especially for a piece not shot in a
studio. The lighting, sound, and visual clarity is excellent. This DVD had to
be shot with a professional grade camera.

Those of you familiar with the original "Palms of Steel"
video will surely recognize Curtis as well as one of his guest performers,
Kainoa Harbottle. Kainoa is back again to share a bit of magic on this DVD.
Curtis also introduces another performer to the video whose name is not a
stranger to coin magic (especially at this website); Reed McClintock who
performs his routine "International Dissolve" from Knucklebuster's Volume 3 manuscript.

What's on the DVD? Pretty darn good coin magic that's what.
However, to perform much of it you will probably need to go buy some Chinese
coins. Three of Curtis' four coin routines use really light and thin dollar
size brass Chinese coins. The exact coins Curtis uses are called Feng Shui
Chinese coins and are available through
www.magicsmith.com for $4.00 each. First thing I did after watching the DVD
was order a few of these coins.

The routines performed are as follows:

Routine #1: "Beijing Coins Across": A silver coin appears
at the fingertips of both hands. The coin is placed into the left hand twice
and instantly jumps to the right twice. Suddenly two coins are visible. With a
wave of his hands, a third coin materializes into view. The coins are dropped
into the left hand, and one coin travels to the right hand. A second coin
travels, and the third coin misses and falls all the way through the earth to
China. Curtis explains that the only way to get the third coin back is to send
the other two to get it. Suddenly the two silver coins in Curtis' left hand
change into three brass Chinese coins! The coins look very real, but Curtis
explains that it is only an illusion. One at a time Curtis takes a Chinese
coin. As soon as he touches the coin it turns silver, until all 3 coins are
silver once again. (This phase is called Fingertip Wild Coin). With a wave of
his hand all 3 silver coins turn into Brass Chinese coins all at once. The
coins are put into a pocket. One at a time the Chinese coins are produced and
dropped into the right hand. When the right hand opens, all the coins are
silver again.

It is unfortunate for me to even write a review of this routine. Why? Because
it will ruin one of the best parts for you when you watch this performance. The
first time the silver coins turn into brass coins is one of those magical
moments that really caught my attention. For me, the meat of the routine is the
wild coin stuff. The initial production of the silver coins is somewhat
reminiscent of a Gary Kurtz handling, and on the surface the coins across looks
pretty standard. When you watch the explanation you will see that the actual
handlings are far from standard because three Chinese coins are held out during
the entire production and coins across sequence. There is one item I do want to
mention in Curtis' Coins Across handling is some of the coin passes he is
using. He uses a pass where his hands never actually touch. It looks like the
drops a coin from one hand to another, and you swear you saw it go, but it
really is a false transfer. It is something pretty novel to play around with.

In my mind, the coins across phase leading up to the first
change into Chinese coins really sells the fact that those Chinese coins came
out of nowhere. The idea that one can use the preceding magic effect to mask
the fact you are prepared for the next phase is from John Ramsay. Curtis'
Fingertip Wild Coin sequence is extremely practical and applicable to other
types of routines. The second instant transposition of all three from silver
back to brass is visually stunning, but is not quite as surprising as the first
one. After Curtis produced the Chinese coins one at a time and dumped them one
at a time into his left hand, when he showed them to all be silver at the end –
that again caught me way off guard. I like stuff that comes out of nowhere like
that.

This routine is stand up, no table and requires you do be
able to handle six coins only showing three at a time. That feat is not easy.
Soft worn coins help cut down the noise of "talking" coins, but great care will
need to be exercised to perform this routine while keeping it deceptive to your
audience.

Routine #2: "The Coercive Purse": Curtis begins by
displaying a coin purse frame. He reaches in and grabs a British copper penny,
then reaches in and retrieves an American half dollar. The copper coin is then
placed back into the purse frame and turns invisible again. The purse frame is
tabled. The silver coin is picked up, closed in a fist. Instantly the silver
coin changes places with the invisible copper coin that is inside the purse
frame. Curtis opens the purse fame and pulls out the silver coin. Curtis says
that he will repeat the effect. He puts both coins in his left hand. He pulls
out the copper places it into the purse frame and instantly shows that the
copper coin jumped back to the left hand and Curtis immediately pulls the silver
coin from the purse frame. Curtis picks up the coin purse frame, drops in the
silver coin, and pockets the copper coin. Curtis shows that the copper coin
jumps back into the purse frame, and he dumps it out. The copper coin is once
again put into the pocket. As the spectator's believe the copper coin is about
to return to the purse frame, Curtis pulls a jumbo coin out of the purse frame.

If this routine reads strangely familiar to the routine
"Theft Proof Purse" in my review of Cody Fisher's "Unforgettable Coin Magic", it
is not by accident. This is the original routine by Curtis Kam that Cody
referenced in his video. Cody's routine differs only by adding the hands of a
spectator to the routine. Personally I feel that Curtis' original routine
seemed to "flow" a little faster and easier than the Cody incarnation. As I
wrote in my review of Cody's tape it is of utmost importance that the spectator
does not lose track of what coin is supposed to be where at any time or the
routine loses its impact. Curtis actually mentions this on the DVD, that is why
it is named "The Coercive Purse". It forces a spectator to pay attention or the
routine will not make any sense. I feel that the pacing and handling of Curtis'
routine is such that it is not too hard to follow what is supposed to be
happening, and creates a very magical experience.

Routine #3: "The Goblet": Curtis brandishes a goblet in his
right hand from which he pours onto a table three silver dollars and three
Chinese brass coins. The Chinese coins are placed back into the Goblet. One at
a time the silver dollars change at the fingertips into the Chinese coins that
were in the goblet. When the goblet is tilted, the silver dollars pour out!
The Chinese coins are again dropped into the goblet. The silver coins are
picked up and instantly change with the wave of a hand into the Chinese coins.
The silver dollars once again pour from the goblet. The Chinese coins are
dropped into the goblet a third time. The goblet rests on the right side of the
table. The silver dollars are held in the left hand and one at a time travel to
the right. The last silver coin however takes a detour through the goblet and
when it arrives in Curtis' right hand all the coins become Chinese! The silver
coins once again pour from the goblet.

This routine is built with three phases exactly the same as
"Beijing Coins Across". They are however in a different order. Curtis uses the
same ingredients to bake a different cake with this routine. This one is a more
formal parlor type handling that has all the good stuff from "Beijing Coins
Across" and adds the goblet and plot of coins changing places inside the
goblet. I liked both incarnations of Curtis' multiple Wild Coin routines.

Routine #4: Reed McClintock's "International Dissolve": A
copper coin, silver coin, and brass coin are on a close up pad. The brass coin
is picked up with a card, dumped in the magician's hand, and with a wave of the
card the coin disappears. This is repeated for the copper coin. The card is
placed on the mat and the silver coin is placed in a pocket. Suddenly all 3
coins appear under the card. The three coins are held in a fan at the
magician's fingertips. One at a time the coins vanish and all appear all at
once under the card once again.

Reed McClintock makes a guest appearance to perform this
routine. The routine is directly from Knuckle Buster's Volume 3. You can read
my comments about the routine by reading my
review of Knuckle Buster's Volume 3.

Routine #5: "Tiananmen Square": Curtis displays a coin
purse from which he takes out three silver Chinese coins to show the audience.
He replaces the coins and places the purse on the table. With a magical snap of
his fingers, a silver Chinese coin appears under the coin purse, one from inside
his jacket, and one from the crook of his elbow. Curtis picks up the purse and
shakes it. Coins rattle inside. He opens it and dumps out three bronze Chinese
coins. The silver coins are picked up and placed into the purse which is again
set on the table. The bronze coins are picked up and one at a time change at
the fingertips to the silver coins. The silver coins are placed in a row on the
table and the purse is picked up and shaken to reveal the sound of coins.
Curtis reaches under the purse and produces a bronze Chinese coin. He places
the purse and coin on the table, reaches into his coat and produces another
bronze coin. He then reaches toward the purse and plucks a third bronze coin
from the top of the purse. The three bronze coins are placed in a row on the
table. The purse is picked up, and shaken to reveal the sound of coins. The
purse is opened and three gold Chinese coins are dumped out and arranged in a
row on the table. Curtis then proceeds to pick up the silver coins and vanishes
them one at a time into the purse. The purse is picked up, opened and three red
Chinese coins dump out, which are arranged in a row on the table. The purse is
closed and Curtis plucks a silver coin from the back of the purse. The purse
and coin is tabled. Curtis reaches into his pocket and brings out another
silver coin, and reaches to the crook of his elbow and produces a third silver
coin. The silver coins are arranged in a row on the table. The purse is picked
up and a jumbo Chinese silver coin (actually a washer) is pulled from the purse.

As can be gathered by the description of this routine, a lot
of magic is taking place. At the end of the routine thirteen coins of five
different types are on the table. This reminds me of a cups and balls routine
where objects are secretly loaded during the offbeat. In this case, a coin
purse is loaded with one set of coins when you think another set is being placed
in. This is a formal routine that needs both table space and time to perform.
You do end up with a really nice display of various coins arranged on your close
up mat. I must confess that the one thing I did not care for too much was the
coin productions where Curtis reaches into his jacket or into his pocket to
produce the coin. I just think those productions are unimpressive because
spectators are bound to think, "Well golly gee, he is just grabbin' them coins
from his pockets." In reality Curtis is NOT grabbing the coins from his jacket
or his pocket, but he IS stealing the next load for his routine. I am not sure
this can be routined differently because the coin loads HAVE to come from
somewhere. In this case you must be wearing a jacket for this performance so
you have some place to stash your loads. I don't think it is much of a stretch
for a spectator to guess where all of these coins are coming from if they can
remember that the magician is reaching into his jacket and pocket during the
routine. It is just not as strong of a change as "Beijing Coins Across" where
the coin change comes out of nowhere.

One other obvious issue you must contend with if you plan on
performing this routine – you have to have a snap open coin purse, three silver
Chinese coins, three bronze Chinese coins, three gold Chinese coins, three red
Chinese coins, a jumbo Chinese coin (I recommend getting a jumbo Chinese coin, a
plain washer is ugly in my opinion), and a partridge in a pear tree (okay maybe
not the partridge and a tree but that would be nice). You can acquire the
multicolored Chinese coins at
www.magicsmith.com.

Routine #6: Kainoa Harbottle's "Repeat Coins from Nostril":
A silver half dollar falls from Kainoa's nostril. He reaches up and pulls
another silver half dollar from his nostril. He then pulls his thumb off and a
third coin falls out of his thumb. He picks up the three coins in his right
hand and waves his left hand over his right. He opens his right hand to show
that the coins have vanished and wipes his left hand over his right. He turns
his hands over and shows his left hand empty as well. He reaches under his left
elbow and produces a coin and subsequently places the coin into his right hand.
He reaches back under his left elbow and produces another coin. He performs a
Coin Roll with both coins in both hands and lets a coin fall from his right to
his left. The third coin is produced via a Coin Roll in the right hand and is
also dropped into the left.

The coins are dumped into the right hand and one coin jumps
back to the left. The left fingers clip a coin and wave it over the right hand,
causing a second coin to magically travel to the left. With a simple shake of
both hands (which are nowhere near each other) the third and final coin travels
to the left hand.

Kainoa then vanishes one coin from his left hand, places
another coin in his pocket, and the last coin is taken by his left hand and is
pushed through his right hand. Kainoa Coin Roll's this coin down both hands.
He once again pushes the coin through his right hand – but it gets stuck. He
taps his hand and it pops through. He explains the coins don't actually go
through the hands, but they are time traveling coins. He says they can go back
in time and suddenly a coin jumps right out of his left hand up into his right
(muscle pass). He explains if they really could go back in time, we can go back
to when we had all 3 coins, and suddenly all 3 coins are at his fingertips.
Kainoa then proceeds to growl and pucker his lips and explain that he "Loves the
camera." (This is the Kainoa Harbottle growling, puckering, camera loving,
kicker ending).

This is a very fast moving high paced routine with a lot
going on. Kainoa uses an underground extremely underutilized sleight throughout
the entire routine called the Mutobe palm. The Mutobe palm was invented by a
Japanese magician, Dr. Mutobe. The Mutobe palm first appeared in English in
Kaufman's New Magic from Japan as a part of Mutobe's "Quadruple
Spellbound". Mutobe palm allows for a flat hand, straight fingers, straight
thumb show, and the fingers and thumb can be spread apart. It is ideal for
showing the back and leading edge (little finger side) of the hand. Other
angles would not work as well.

Kainoa has mastered the Mutobe palm (as well as the Coin Roll
which he uses throughout the routine). The most impressive part I felt was the
multiple Mutobe palm coin vanish and hand wipe aquitment Kainoa used early in
the routine. It looked absolutely stunning. Since Kainoa covers this aquitment
later in his explanation, he jumps right into the explanation of the Mutobe
coins across phase.

Then Kainoa describes a vanishing sequence that he did not
use in the performance segment of his routine. I like the vanishing
sequence he explained better than what he did on his performance. His
performance he vanishes one coin then puts the second coin in his pocket. I
thought this was very strange. It makes sense to either vanish two coins or
simply put both in your pocket. I assume Kainoa just messed up on the
performance but simply recovered and continued on (which any good magician will
do).

I personally never saw Mutobe palm work before, and I doubt
many people have. I can't do most of the stuff Kainoa does because I have never
used it, but I really enjoy learning new coin technique. I recommend anyone
remotely interested in this underutilized sleight to get the DVD and check it
out. I am not qualified at this point to offer much insight into all of its
uses, but for what Kainoa does with it, it looks very deceptive. I have dry
hands. Mutobe palm is much easier if your coins are sharply milled. If your
hands are in the least bit dry, and you're trying it with soft coins, you're
going to be discouraged.

Item #7: "Over the Top with Spider Vanish": This combines
the "Over the Top Vanish" from J.B. Bobo's Modern Coin Magic with a
spider vanish with a retention pass spider vanish. This is hard to describe.
It is a coin vanish, it looks pretty good. You need to see it.

Item #8: "Spread and Wiped Clean": This is a Wiped Clean
aquitment with fingers spread open. This gives the fingers a convincing open
look during the aquitment. Again this looks good, you have to see it.

This DVD has a good mix of coin magic. Highlights for me
personally is Curtis' one handed three for three coin change, Curtis' fingertip
wildcoin work, and Kainoa's Mutobe palm multiple coin aquitment. It was also
nice to see Reed's coin magic on video, up until now I only had his manuscripts
to imagine how it looked. Keep in mind that for much of the content of Curtis'
routines you will need to have some Chinese coins. If you are seriously
interested you may want to buy the coins you need from MagicSmith before the
supplies are gone. This video is not for the beginner. If you consider
yourself an accomplished coin magician, this DVD will be a welcome addition to
your coin magic library.

I am an advocate of giving the magician retail sales for his
products. Those of you interested in the DVD, I would recommend getting them
directly from Curtis himself. Curtis has the DVD for $30.00 plus $4.00 priority
mail shipping. You can send him a check made out to Curtis Kam, 7518 Nakalele
St., Honolulu, HI 96825.

This
is Reed's third installment of his Knuckle Busters coin magic manuscript series.
If you have not already done so you can read reviews of
Vol .1 and
Vol. 2 by clicking the links.

Volume 3 is twenty 5.5" X 8.5" pages and fully photographed
(black and white photos). All of the coin magic in this manuscript focuses on
magic with a Chinese coin, copper coin, and silver coin.

Routine #1: International Fantasy: A spectator selects
a card and places it back in the deck. After failing to find the card, the
magician offers to perform a coin trick. A card shown not to be the
spectator's selection is placed on the table. One at a time 3 coins from 3
different countries are produced, then vanished one at a time, re-produced one
at a time, then vanished to appear under the card on the table (again one at a
time). Finally, the card is shown to have changed into the spectator's
card selection.

Reed uses a very common gaff in this routine and gets a lot
of mileage out of it. In the context of Reed's routine, this gaff really
allows you to be one ahead or behind at will, making productions and vanishes
a little bit easier. This is a solid well put together routine, and
honestly well within the grasp of any magician who decides to learn it.
(So it only busts one pinky knuckle on the Knuckle Buster scale of
difficulty).

Routine #2: The International Dissolve: A copper coin, silver
coin, and brass coin are on a close up pad. The brass coin is picked up
with a card, dumped in the magician's hand, and with a wave of the card the coin
disappears. This is repeated for the copper coin. The card is placed
on the mat and the silver coin is placed in a pocket. Suddenly all 3 coins
appear under the card. The three coins are held in a fan at the magician's
fingertips. One at a time the coins vanish and all appear all at once
under the card once again.

This routine will be on Curtis Kam's Palms of Steel #2 DVD.
Reed has two gaffs at play here, one every coin magician should own, the other
will need to be made (it does not take much effort to make). I like the
second phase of this routine where the coins disappear at the fingertips to
suddenly appear under a card (and Reed never touches the card after he picked
up the 3 coins). Since Reed performs a 3 coin sleight of hand vanish sequence,
having the coins re-appear under the card takes all the heat off of the dirty
hand by a magical transposition. Reed also has a really cool move during
the 2nd coin vanish phase that utilizes a Geoffrey Latta/Paul Wilson move and
adds a subtle property of a gaff coin. The subtle property of this gaff
to quote Reed, "Is so bold it spanks magicians." The move is somewhat of
a discrepancy that flies right past people and really makes a very convincing
silver coin vanish. You have to read it (or see it on Palms of Steel 2)
to see what I am talking about.

Routine #3: International Hanging Coins: A copper coin,
silver coin, and brass coin are held in a fan. One at a time each coin
turns invisible and is hung in mid air. They are collected from mid-air
and suddenly appear on the table side by side. The coins are picked up;
the copper and brass vanish one at a time leaving the silver. The silver changes
colors rapidly from silver to copper to brass. Then all three coins are
displayed again.

Reed uses a gaff coin in this routine in a unique way that
I have never seen done before. He uses it as a normal coin (ie he does
not use the properties of the gaff). In other words, you can do this routine
without the gaff. I thought it was a bit funny do have a gaff at play
but not use it, but I understand why he did it: The other two routines
in the manuscript use the gaff, so if you were using the other routines as
part of a set, you can keep using the same coins. Reed primarily
combines two routines: David Roth's Hanging Coins and Dr. Michael
Rubinstein's Triple E.G. Spellbound. He adds the delayed reproduction of
the coins all at once on the table, and a coin finale he dubs the McClintock
display to end the routine. I guess the only negative I might have with
this routine is that Reed does a triple spellbound with 3 coins that he just a
displayed few seconds before. After the spellbound changes, he displays all 3
coins again. In my mind it makes the spellbound routine (regardless of
how beautiful it is - and it is beautiful) less of a transformation of a
single coin into different types and more of a way to artfully switch in three
coins that were just shown. Then after the spellbound, you show the 3 coins
again again reinforcing you were just fancifully switching coins around.
It's more of a personal style thing I guess.

The material in this set of notes will definitely be easier
to acquire than the material on previous KB volumes. If you have Reed's other
manuscripts, by all means get this one and complete your set. If you are looking
to buy only one of Reed's manuscripts, I think this one will provide 3 very nice
pieces of coin magic to work on that won't really Bust your Knuckles too bad.
I like this manuscript in part because all of the routines use three different
types of coins. Reeds ideas on how to use one of the gaffs is a really
valuable lesson in looking past the obvious use of a gaff. I recommend
ordering the manuscript directly from Reed at his website:
www.reedmcclintockmagic.com.

Meeting Apollo
Robbins was one of my personal highlights of the 2002 Las Vegas Magic
Invitational. Apollo is a pickpocket artist that performs in Las Vegas. When I
met Apollo the first night of LVMI he did a coin routine for me. Little did I
know that this coin routine was a setup to strip me of objects from my pocket
and my wristwatch. He nailed me good and I never saw it coming.

So why am I reviewing a pick pocket's set of lecture notes on a coin magic
website? Well it just so happens that Apollo is a darn good coin magician.
Apollo did some stuff I was not used to seeing and fooled me pretty good with
it.

Apollo's 17 page 8.5" x 11" staple bound set of notes is fully photographed in
black and white. In fact, this set of notes is almost like a picture book with
more pictures than words at times. For guys who like to look at pictures
instead of reading to learn, you are in luck! Shakespeare wrote in "Hamlet",
"Brevity is the soul of wit". This applies very nicely to Apollo's notes. He
gets the point across with very few words! There is seven items in this set of
notes, five of which are coin related.

Let's Dive in:

Item #1: The "Apollo Palm" This is a variation of a purse palm. The coin is
concealed in such a manner that it is not visible from the front, behind, or
right side (when using the right hand). This is a very disarming concealment.
One I never used before. Joshua Jay covered this concealment in more detail in
the February 2002 issue of MAGIC magazine. When I read it in MAGIC I must
confess I dismissed it as something I would not use. That set me up to get
fooled by it in Apollo's hands. I honestly could not tell where the coin was.
Some of you have heard of Shoot Ogawa, a young Japanese magician. He is friends
with Apollo and utilizes the "Apollo Palm" as part of a purse frame routine that
has fooled the pants off of many big name magicians. (And no-name magicians
such as myself).

The second part of the Apollo palm is the production of the coin. The coin is
slid into "Fitch Palm" named after Robert Fitch [edit - since writing this
review, this concealment has been credited to Jimmy Wilson Sr. from Horace
Bennett's book. The concealment is called "J.W. Grip"] Then the coin is pushed to the fingertips to produce
it.

Item #2: "A Quick Feel: An empty-handed shake…": This item is a very nice way
to shake hands with a spectator while concealing a coin in the very hand you are
shaking with. It does not a revolutionary idea, however it works very well.
The manuscript does not go into much detail beyond the concealment. When Apollo
did it for me, he used the concealment with his right hand and showed his left
hand casually empty. Then he stole the coin from his right hand into his left,
as he positioned my hand palm up with his left. After showing his right hand
casually empty, he re-stole the coin back into his right hand and produced it in
the palm of my hand.

Item #3: "Whither": This is a simple coin vanish that makes a coin seem like it
withers away. Most of the coin magic techniques I know are typically done
either at waist or chest level. Much of Apollo's coin magic is brought up to
eye level. This type of magic would be perfect for TV work as the performer's
face is in frame with his hands. Not being intimately familiar with the
concealments used in such a hand positioning, I found this technique especially
deceptive, I would recommend anyone to learn this vanish (which also can be used
for coin changes as in item #4 below).

Item #4: "Nabil's Change": This is a spellbound change Apollo attributes to
Nabil Murday of Hollywood who came up with this change while brainstorming with
Apollo. Again, this brings the magic up to eye level of the performer. The
spellbound change is very similar to a technique that Michael Rubinstein has on
his videos from the 80's. The follow up to the change is very similar to the
hand choreography used in "Whither" above. Again, I found this change to be
extremely deceptive and very beautiful to see.

Item #5: "Latex Load": This is a technique to load a rubber band on a
spectator's wrist. The obvious use is for a surprise ending of a rubber band
routine like "Crazy Man's Handcuffs."

Item #6: "Doing Business": This is a technique to load a business card into a
spectator's coat pocket. This technique would be applicable to loading other
objects such as a selected card or a coin, etc.

Item #7: "His Watch": This is one of Apollo's coin routines that he nailed me
with when I met him. Apollo uses a coin to misdirect spectators which allows
him to both load a coin under one spectator's watch, steal a second spectator's
watch, put the spectator's watch on his own wrist, and put a coin under it.
This routine is not so much about the coins, but the spectator reactions.
Apollo really does a nice job with this. Apollo also provides some information
on watch stealing, and when to not do it; information that should be
wisely heeded.

I enjoyed this picture book… honestly it takes no longer than 10 minutes to read
the whole manuscript. In fact, you might be able to learn everything if all you
did was look at the pictures!

What you will not get this manuscript are multi-phase fully scripted routines.
What you will get is some very quick and deceptive tools and techniques to apply
to your magic.

You can order the manuscript from Apollo by emailing him at
apollo@kleptomagic.com. The manuscript is $25.00 plus $5.00 shipping and
handling.